I always have two or three of these small valve stem 4-function tools in my toolboxes. I first used them at a Texaco Service Station where I worked in High School. In those days at least 50% of all tires were tube type. The station where I worked had a pneumatic tire changing stand that I loved. It made changing tires a snap. The first step at installing the tube was to go ahead and put one bead of the tire onto the rim. Often, if we had removed the tube for repair, we only took off the top bead. We broke the bottom bead off the rim to make the tire easier to work with, but never removed it from the rim. You could pull the tire up and run your hand around inside the casing to find a nail or screw that had punctured the tire and remove it. The hole in the tube would give you the approximate location of where you should look. We were careful to mark the tire and rim so when we put the tire back onto the rim, it would still be approximately balanced. Balancing was $1 more and some people didn't want to pay that after paying $3 for a tire repair. It WAS the '60s when $3 would buy 10 gallons of premium gasoline.
When the tube was returned to the rim, we carefully aligned it so the valve stem went through the hole in the rim without being bent. We screwed the stem tool onto the stem so it would not sneak back inside the tire casing and rim. We even had a can of baby powder to sprinkle on the tubes so they slipped around inside the wheel and casing much easier if needed. When it came time to inflate the tube, I would hold the stem with my fingers while putting in a bit of air. If it started to go crooked, I'd stop and realign the tube. Nothing says "tire changing rookie" quite like a valve stem that's crooked in the hole after the tire is inflated. My boss would not accept that kind of work. It had to be centered and staight out.:thumbsup:
Anyhow, this 4-way tool has valve core remover, a thread cleaner for both inside and outside threads, and an easy out tool for removing broken valve cores. The only drawback is it is so small it is easy to lose or put into your pocket and walk off with. That's why I have so many of them. The cheap ones are normally about $1.50, but like anything, you can spend $5 or more for one if you really try.
AlchemySA: Aren't you glad that motorcycle rider wanted to change his own tire? After all, if you had done it, he would have been unbearable while you did it and would have come unglued if you made the tiniest of scratches on his rim. Many tire stores here will just politely refuse to touch a job like that.
